Thermosensitive Liposomes for Gemcitabine Delivery to Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with gemcitabine is limited by an increased desmoplasia, poor vascularization, and short plasma half-life. Heat-sensitive liposomes modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG; PEGylated liposomes) can increase plasma stability, reduce clearance, and decrease side effects. Nevertheless, translation of heat-sensitive liposomes to the clinic has been hindered by the low loading efficiency of gemcitabine and by the difficulty of inducing hyperthermia in vivo.

A case of Lactobacillus casei bacteraemia associated with aortic dissection: is there a link?

We describe an unusual case of Lactobacillus casei bacteraemia in a heavy dairy consumer woman, with a one month history of low grade fever and admitted to our hospital for sudden onset of severe thoracic pain due to dissection of the aortic arch and ascending aorta. The patient underwent four weeks of intravenous ampicillin (2 g every 4 hours) followed by 2 weeks of oral amoxicillin (1 g every 8 hours) with resolution of fever, thoracic pain and progression of aortic disease. On the basis of the patient's symptoms, a possible penetration of L.

Analysis of methods commonly used for glycopeptide and oxazolidinone susceptibility testing in Enterococcus faecium isolates.

The susceptibility to teicoplanin, vancomycin and linezolid of 30 clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium was tested by Vitek 2, Phoenix, Etest, broth microdilution and disc diffusion tests. The vanA and vanB resistance genes and the 23S rRNA gene G2576T mutation were detected by PCR and PCR-RFLP, respectively. Resistance rates to teicoplanin ranged from 3% for Vitek 2 to 57.

NOD2/CARD15 polymorphisms impair innate immunity and increase susceptibility to gastric cancer in an Italian population.

In the present case-control study we investigated the potential role of CARD15 R702W, G908R, and 1007fs polymorphisms in Italian gastric cancer patients. The study population consisted of 170 gastric cancer patients and 156 controls. Unconditional regression (odds ratios and 95% confidence interval) was used to investigate the association of the studied polymorphisms with gastric cancer.

Macrolide resistance genotypes and phenotypes among erythromycin-resistant clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci, Italy.

One hundred macrolide-resistant staphylococcal isolates from clinically relevant infections in Italy during a 19-month period were studied. Four distinct resistance phenotypes were observed using the triple-disk induction test (erythromycin, clindamycin, telithromycin): the cMLS(B) phenotype (24 isolates); the iMLS(B) phenotype (41 isolates); the MS phenotype (three isolates); and the iMTS phenotype (erythromycin-induced telithromycin resistance) (32 isolates). ermC and ermA genes predominated within erythromycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates with iMLS(B) phenotype and cMLS(B) phenotype, respectively.

Toll-like receptor 4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms in gastric cancer of intestinal and diffuse histotypes.

In the present study we investigated the potential role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms as risk factors in the development of gastric cancer. TLR-4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms were investigated in 171 Italian patients with sporadic gastric cancer and in 151 controls. Unconditional regression (odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals) were used to investigate the association of the studied polymorphisms with gastric cancer.

Molecular characterisation and clonal analysis of group A streptococci causing pharyngitis among paediatric patients in Palermo, Italy.

Group A streptococci (n = 123), isolated consecutively from paediatric patients with pharyngitis from Palermo, Italy, were analysed. The emm and sof genes were sequenced, the presence of the speA and speC genes was investigated, and the macrolide resistance phenotypes and genotypes were determined. A limited number of emm/sof genotypes was found, and the most prevalent types were different from those found in a previous study from Rome.

Erythromycin-resistant pharyngeal isolates of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered in Italy.

Three classes of macrolide resistance phenotypes and three different erythromycin resistance determinants were found among 127 erythromycin-resistant group A streptococcal (GAS) isolates recovered from 355 (35.8%) pediatric pharyngitis patients in Rome, Italy. According to emm and sof sequence typing results, erythromycin-resistant isolates comprised 11 different clonal types.

Genotypes of invasive pneumococcal isolates recently recovered from Italian patients.

We examined 73 recent invasive pneumococcal isolates within selected areas of Italy for genotypic variability. Thirty-three genomic macrorestriction types were found, three of which represented multiple serotypes. Restriction fragment patterns of pbp2b, pbp2x, and pspA were conserved within the majority of isolates that shared macrorestriction types.

Polymerase chain reaction, with sequencing, as a diagnostic tool in culture---negative bacterial meningitis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using 16S rDNA universal primer PCR (followed by sequencing) and 65-kDa heat shock Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein gene PCR as a method to determine a bacterial etiology in culture---negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. METHODS: One hundred and forty-nine CSF samples from 128 patients were processed. DNA was extracted from the CSF samples and amplified with the eubacterial 16S rDNA primers P11E and P13B, and with the 65-kDa heat shock protein gene mycobacterial primers.

Colorectal carcinomas and PTEN/MMAC1 gene mutations.

Purpose: PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1 is a tumor suppressor gene encoding a dual-specificity protein phosphatase with homology to the cytoskeleton proteins, chicken tensin and bovine auxilin. PTEN mutations have been described in several types of human cancer. Recently, mutations at an (A)(6) repeat of PTEN exons 7 and 8 in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with microsatellite instability have been detected.

Antibiotic resistance and genotypic characterization by PFGE of clinical and environmental isolates of enterococci.

Fifty-four Enterococcus faecalis and 20 Enterococcus faecium isolates from clinical and non-human sources in Rome, Italy, were characterized by antibiotic resistance and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Resistance to vancomycin, teicoplanin, ampicillin, and ciprofloxacin was more frequent in E. faecium than in E.

Group A streptococcal genotypes from pediatric throat isolates in Rome, Italy.

In a study assessing genetic diversity, 114 group A streptococcus (GAS) isolates were recovered from pediatric pharyngitis patients in Rome, Italy. These isolates comprised 22 different M protein gene (emm) sequence types, 14 of which were associated with a distinct serum opacity factor/fibronectin binding protein gene (sof) sequence type. Isolates with the same emm gene sequence type generally shared a highly conserved chromosomal macrorestriction profile.

Routine molecular identification of enterococci by gene-specific PCR and 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing.

For 279 clinically isolated specimens identified by commercial kits as enterococci, genotypic identification was performed by two multiplex PCRs, one with ddl(E. faecalis) and ddl(E. faecium) primers and another with vanC-1 and vanC-2/3 primers, and by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing.

Diagnostic value of cytokine assays in cerebrospinal fluid in culture-negative, polymerase chain reaction-positive bacterial meningitis.

Analysis of bacterial DNA using a polymerase chain reaction performed with broad-range eubacterial 16S rDNA primers may yield a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis in cases where Gram staining of cerebrospinal fluid (CFS), antigen detection techniques or culture fail. Since this PCR technique occasionally gives false-positive results due to contamination of samples or laboratory reagents, a study was performed to establish the diagnostic value of assaying concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in 90 CSF samples. A high correlation was found between a positive PCR result and the concentrations of TNF-alpha and IL-10, indicating that cytokine assays may be used as a confirmatory test.

Use of oligoprobes on amplified DNA in the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis.

An approach based on the 16 S rDNA polymerase chain reaction (16S PCR) and oligoprobe hybridization was applied to 77 cerebrospinal fluid samples submitted to the clinical microbiology laboratory for culture. Broad-range 16S rDNA primers were selected in conserved regions of the gene. Oligoprobes specific for Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus spp.

IgM anti-hepatitis C virus in patients with chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis and their relationship to viral replication.

Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may have different patterns of antibody response to various structural and non-structural viral antigens. We have correlated the serological patterns to the clinical features of chronic infection and to viral replication in 68 HCV-Ab-positive patients with chronic liver disease at different stages (19 with cirrhosis-hepatocellular carcinoma, 38 with chronic active hepatitis and 11 with chronic persistent hepatitis). Serum samples from each patient were assayed for HCV-IgM by enzyme immunoassay and for HCV-RNA by the polymerase chain reaction using primer sets derived from the 5'-non-coding region.

Effects of one-year treatment with rilmenidine on systemic hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients.

In patients with essential hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) increases the risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Thus its reversal represents one of the principal end-points of antihypertensive treatment. We assessed the cardiovascular effects of 1-year antihypertensive treatment with rilmenidine (1 or 2 mg/day orally), a new oxazoline with a potent antihypertensive action that acts selectively through imidazoline-preferring receptors.

Evaluation of indeterminate sera for hepatitis C virus by assays using synthetic peptides.

The development of new immunodiagnostic systems to study antibodies anti-HCV based on the use of synthetic peptides are potentially very important in the evaluation of indeterminate samples. We have compared two immunodiagnostic tests, the 3-RIBA and LIA-HCV test system, to examine the samples rated as indeterminate by the 2-RIBA test. The results showed that the specificity of the new tests has improved, in fact 29/40 of the indeterminate samples studied became positive with both tests.

Reactivity and protective capacity of a polyclonal antiserum derived from mice immunized with antibiotic exposed Escherichia coli.

The murine immune response to Escherichia coli O6:K-alone or pre-exposed to 0.1 x MIC of aztreonam was investigated. Relative to mice immunized with untreated bacteria, mice immunized with antibiotic-treated microorganisms presented a significantly enhanced protection towards a challenge of 100 x LD50 of viable E.

Detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in dialysis patients.

Dialysis patients are at risk for infection by a variety of blood-borne agents transmitted within dialysis units. The development of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening test prompted many studies on the prevalence of anti-HCV among dialysis patients. The authors have evaluated the prevalence of anti-HCV in 405 hemodialysis patients both by Elisa screening and 4-RIBA test system with a follow-up of two years.

Immunization of mice with antibiotic treated Escherichia coli.

The hypothesis of a different immunogenicity between untreated and antibiotic-treated Escherichia coli was investigated in vivo. Groups of mice were injected weekly for eight weeks with formalin-killed E. coli ATCC 25922 either exposed or not to 0.

Alpha interferon plus thymopentine in treatment of HBV and/or HDV positive patients undergoing liver transplant.

Infection by hepatitis B (HBV) and/or delta virus (HDV), is the most frequent acquired pathology in patients affected by end-stage hepatic disease, candidates for liver transplant. To reduce the risk of virus reactivation after surgery, we used alpha Interferon (IFN) therapy in patients who were HBV-DNA and/or HDV-RNA positives before transplant. Our protocol included alpha IFN at low dosage associated to a thymic hormone that seems to have a synergistic activity with IFN.